Fountain of Hope
by TeaShop
Summary: A new student transfers to Hogwarts carrying a load of secrets along with her school supplies. She'll provoke romances and adventures, but how far will her fellow students go to find out her past and who she really is. take the poll to choose pairing
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_**Donations**_

Harry and Mr. Weasley stepped into the Atrium, Harry's head still spinning after the now blurred events of the hearing. They began to make their way to the exit when Harry remembered the promise he had made to himself the first time he had walked past the golden fountain that stood in the middle of the entrance hall.

"Wait just a moment," he told Mr. Weasley before pausing at the edge of the fountain.

He worked his money bag from his front pocket and opened it with every intention of dumping the entire contents into the clear water, donating every galleon to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Harry began to slowly tip the bag watching a shiny gold coin slide into the pool.

"You're wasting your galleons," a soft voice muttered from behind a copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

"Er – excuse me?" Harry said, turning to a girl sitting cross-legged on the fountain. A pair of deep blue eyes emerged over the headlines, shining with amusement. She folded her paper so it rested on her knees revealing the rest of her pale, heart shaped face and pushed a lock of her faded brown hair behind one ear. The girl gazed into Harry's eyes. He looked back at her apprehensively before she broke her stare to pull a galleon from the bottom of the shallow water.

"All of these coins aren't donated to St. Mungo's." She took note of the faint look of shock Harry was wearing, "Quite like a slap in the face isn't it? If mum didn't work for The Ministry I probably would have done something about it by now. Yet here I sit and there you stand…staring at me," she rolled her eyes and began to unfold her paper.

"Who are you?" Harry blurted, feeling suddenly embarrassed. He had planned a much smoother introduction in his head. The girl grinned and stood up, extending her hand which still held a wet galleon.

"Sydney Wood."

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry shook her hand and waited for her mouth to fall open or for her to express some form of shock due to the fact that she was shaking the hand of _the_ Harry Potter.

But she simply said, "Nice meeting you, Harry," and pulled her hand from his grip leaving the gold coin in Harry's palm. "Well, I must go. Can't keep mum waiting," she stuffed her _Daily Prophet_ into the brown, leather bag that hung from her shoulder and gave Harry a faint grin before she disappeared within the throng of people that surrounded them.

Harry stared at the crowd, hoping to catch another glimpse of her, but soon gave up when Mr. Weasley's voice erupted in his ears.

"All set there, Harry?"

"Oh...yeah, I'm good," he replied

"Let's get back then. I'm sure everyone is itching to hear what happened!" Mr. Weasley gave a curt nod to whomever he had previously been conversing with and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, steering him to the exit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_**Dinner Guests**_

"I knew they'd let you off, mate," Ron slapped Harry on the back.

"Yeah. Guess so," Harry flung himself onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. Images of the girl invaded his thoughts: _Her_ _blue eyes; her brown hair, cascading over her shoulders; her soft, inviting lips that were constantly fashioned into a smirk; and the mysterious air that she had about her. _It seemed impossible that Harry would ever stop thinking about this girl. That's when he realized he needed to know her. To talk to her. To be with her.

"Kids! Get down here and help with din-" Mrs. Weasley's shouting was cut off by a very loud rapping at the door and the portrait of Mrs. Black's shouting. Harry got off his bed and bounded down the stairs followed by Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasley children. They all chatted happily, rich scents filling their noses and when they reached the first landing Harry stopped abruptly causing everyone to stumble into each other.

"Jane, it's so good to see you again!" Mrs. Weasley hugged a tall woman with a mess of curly brown hair.

"And it's lovely to see you too, Molly!"

Harry's eyes fell on the girl that was standing next to the tall woman, who appeared to be her mother. But he did not need to strain himself to figure out her name or wonder who she was or why she looked so familiar because he had been thinking about her all afternoon. It was the girl that he had met at the Ministry earlier that day.

Within seconds a loud chorus of "SYDNEY!"'s filled Harry's ears and he was pushed aside as a flock of red heads flew down the remaining stairs.

Sydney didn't seem the least bit bewildered by this and instantly shouted back,

"WEASLEYS!" The four greeted her with a mess of hugs and well thought out secrete handshakes. The noise in the hallway was becoming over bearing and everyone retreated to the kitchen where pots bubbled and pans clanged as Tonks had attempted to resume the cooking.

"I'm sorry, Molly, but I think I ruined this pan," Tonks lifted a sauce pan off of the stove and revealed its black, bubbly interior.

"Oh don't worry, dear, it's nothing that can't be fixed," she grinned and half rolled her eyes. "Now, Jane, I insist you stay for dinner."

"Oh no no I couldn't impose on you like that! You seem as though you have enough on your hands," she gestured to the table set to accommodate a small village.

"Of course not! I know that you two haven't had a sit down meal in a while and it looks like the kids need to catch up. Sirius would say the same thing, I'm sure."

"What do you think, Syd?" Jane looked to her daughter who had been swatting at Fred and George for relentlessly playing with her hair.

"I'd love to stay! Well, if I don't have to sit next to these two beasts!" Sydney glanced up at the twins who were grinning wildly.

"Wonderful! I'll go get more plates." Mrs. Weasley said before she walked off with Jane and Tonks to rummage for more silverware and inform the rest of the Order about their dinner guests.

"So, Sydney, how's France been treating you?" Fred asked as he sat down. Everyone followed his example.

"It's bloody boring," Sydney collapsed into the chair next to Ron then added, "plus the food is nothing to give two craps about."

"Ugh. That would kill me," Ron said looking disgusted.

Sydney chuckled, "Got that right, mate."

"OH! How rude have we been? We didn't even introduce you to our friends!" Ginny leaned over Harry to address Sydney. "This is Hermione and Harry. Hermione and Harry, this is Sydney Wood."

"Pleasure." Hermione and Sydney smiled at each other as they spoke at the same time.

"Yeah we've met," Harry said smugly.

"Were you with us when me and Fred ran into them at the Quidditch World Cup last year, Harry?" George asked.

"No I ran into her at the Ministry this morning."

"That's _right_! Weird we'd run into each other twice in one day eh?" Sydney made circular movements with her butterbeer before taking a prolonged sip.

"Huh, could've sworn you had been there when we were talking to Oliver and Syd at the Cup," George said, obviously thinking hard to remember the affair.

"No Harry was with Ron, remember?" Fred elbowed George.

"Alright! Whatever!" George elbowed back.

"Oliver's my cousin by the way," Sydney cut in hoping to stop any form of a fight before dinner.

Just then Sirius walked in, Sydney's mother's arm linked with his and the rest of the order following him.

"Buckbeak's fine, Sirius. He just needs a bit of air and maybe so room to spread his wings," Jane informed him.

"And you won't tell anyone at the Ministry about this?" Sirius laced his fingers with hers.

"Of course not. I'm off the clock and plus I doubt they'd let me keep my job if they found out that I was helping an escaped prisoner and his hippogriff that was sentenced to death two years ago." Sirius chuckled,

"I suppose you would."

Fred, George and Sydney turned their attention to each other and began to sing, in a whisper,

"Secrete lovers…" However they stopped abruptly when Lupin sent them sharp looks from the other end of the table.

During dinner Harry really didn't say too much. Sydney kept mentioning how good the food was and how much she had missed England while Fred and George made jokes about anything that they felt would get under Sydney's skin. Every so often Harry found himself just gazing at the girl, trying to force the sound of her laugh or the way she held her fork into his mind. He caught himself doing this most times, but once or twice he received a strange look from Ginny or Hermione that snapped him out of this trance.

The night soon came to an end and the two Wood's adamantly claimed that they had over stayed their welcome. And after some hugs and a few handshakes were exchanged in the narrow hallway they disappeared into the darkness.

Harry and Ron were sitting in their room, after being shuffled upstairs by Mrs. Weasley, when Ron noticed that Harry was being unusually quite.

"You alright, Harry?" he asked as he sat down on the floor to face his friend. "Looks like something's bothering you. I mean you've barely talked all day."

"Yeah I'm fine I've just…got a lot on my mind is all."

"Oh okay-" Ron began to say but Harry cut him off.

"How do you know the Woods?"

"Well…Jane used to work is dad's department at the Ministry and they used to come over for dinner all the time. Then they moved to France…after her dad died, I guess. But I dunno we've been hanging around with them since we were kids, yah know...Sydney always got along best with Fred and George, even though she's our age, and her sister with Charlie…" Ron's voice faded and Harry looked at him quizzically.

"Sister?" Harry asked, trying to stay away from the topic of the girl's dead father.

"Yeah she's got a sister Charlie's age. Her name's Angelica."

"And she's really friendly with the twins?"

Ron nodded his mind clearly elsewhere.

The two sat in silence for a while before Ron stood and got into bed, leaving Harry to his own thoughts in the dimly lit room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_**Welcome to Hogwarts**_

Platform 9 ¾ was crowded as usual and by the time Harry got on the train he was left to forage for a seat alone. As he searched for a compartment he felt an array of glares fall on his as he passed and doors slam in his wake. Over the last few weeks he had completely forgotten that a large portion of the wizarding world considered him to be a lunatic due to his claim of the Dark Lord's revival. He sighed and continued walking.

Finally Harry came across a compartment whose occupant didn't seem to sense his presence and shut him out. He peered through the doorway and was a bit taken back by who he saw. It was Sydney. She was sitting with her back to the window and her feet against the opposite wall, absorbed in a book and chewing on a piece of thin, red licorice with a fluffy, brown and white cat laying across her long legs. She was wearing a gray v-neck, skinny jeans and black converse high-tops while her brown hair fell to her shoulders in soft curls and her wand was placed under the blue sweatband that she wore around her head.

Harry rapped lightly on the glass, making her look up.

"Harry! Hi!" she removed the licorice string from her mouth and smiled brightly

"Hey, Sydney. Do you um mind if I sit here?" Harry forced himself not to stutter.

"Not at all!" Harry returned her smile and sat down across from her.

"So…Ron told me that you were living in France…" Harry's voice trailed off and he glanced at the ground, feeling shameful that he was so nervous around this girl. It figures, he's faced the Voldemort _multiple_ times but he gets choked up when he tries to talk to a girl that's not Hermione.

"Ah so you've been talking about me, eh?" Sydney chuckled at her own remark and closed her book, using a piece of licorice as a bookmark. "Well, mum got transferred here this summer after about five bloody years in France," she said. She opened her mouth to continue but was interrupted.

"Wood? What the hell are you doing here?" Fred and George appeared at the doorway.

"Why can I not go anywhere without you two interrogating me?" Sydney swung her legs over the seat; her cat jumped to the ground with her sudden movement and arched its back.

"We never interrogate you," George walked in and sat on one side of Harry.

"We're just…concerned about your well being," Fred did the same.

"Ah yes! My well being. That's a new one," the girl grinned. "Mum got transferred over the summer so I'm going to Hogwarts now."

"I could have guessed that," Fred grumbled.

"Then why did you ask?" she pulled a new piece of licorice from her brown messenger bag that sat at her feet.

"Why are you always eating that?" George asked, changing the subject.

"Because it's my favorite snack in the whole world," the expression she was wearing couldn't have been more serious.

"Give me a piece," the twins said in unison, both extending their hands.

"Who said I was willing to waste it all on you two?"

"When did you become such a little prat?" Fred leaned back and folded his arms.

"When it comes to giving out my licorice!"

"I find that to be a pretty legitimate reason," a new voice joined the conversation. Everyone in the car looked up to see Ron standing at the door, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"See! Ron agrees!" Sydney exclaimed throwing her arms into the air as Ron sat down next to her. Fred and George both mumbled something to themselves.

"So, is that bag just full of licorice or what?" Harry asked, finally able to say something.

"Pretty much," she replied as though it was the most normal thing she's said all day.

"Alright, we're going to go," George said, getting to his feet.

"Not like it hasn't been fun hanging around with you lot," Fred did the same.

"Yes we were all honored that you two decided to grace us with your presence," Sydney said, sarcasm dripping from her words. Everyone laughed at her remark as the twins slammed the compartment door closed. Just then Hermione quickly entered and flung herself down next to Harry.

"Were have you been?" Harry asked.

"Oh I got caught up talking to Luna Lovegood after Ron and I left the other prefects," she answered sounding a bit exasperated.

"Strange people those Lovegood's are," Sydney remarked as she chewed on her candy.  
Everyone quietly mumbled in agreement and the car went silent for a few moments.  
Sydney pulled herself from any further conversation and picked up her book again.  
Desperate to talk to the girl Harry made some blind attempts at conversation.

"_The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo…_that a book for class?" he asked. Sydney chuckled.

"No, it's a muggle book. I've always had a thing for muggle literature. It fascinates me I guess."

"Like children's stories?" Ron turned to her.

"A very extensive, mature children's story," she smiled at him. There was more silence but this time it was comfortable and friendly rather than awkward.

Suddenly, the door flung open, once again.

"Well well would you look who it is," everyone turned to find a smug Draco Malfoy leaning on the entrance, his arms crossed.

Sydney sunk back into her seat and let her hair fall over her face, praying Malfoy wasn't addressing her. The boy craned his neck, his grey eyes peering into Sydney's face. "Trying to hide are you, Wood? Scared of what I might say?" His smirk broadened, "Well, I suppose a man's daughter doesn't act much differently than the man himself."

At the mention of her father Sydney's fists clenched and she threw herself at Draco, pressing her wand to the bridge of his nose.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about my father, you filthy little rodent!"

"GUYS! Cut it out!" Everyone was now on their feet trying to loosen the tension.

"You're lucky I don't hex the living shit out of you!" Harry and Ron grabbed her arms, lifting her off the ground as she kicked her legs and jabbed the air with her wand that was still pointed at a grinning Draco.

"Yes, I'm sure I'm quite lucky and I'm sure you have all the ability to but," he rolled his own wand between his fingers, "at least my family name's still intact. Reviving your own will take a lot more than hanging out with mudbloods and blood-traitors. However, there's still a chance for you, Sydney, and if you're interested: my door's always open," he turned on his heel and strode away his robes billowing out behind him.

"What a git," Ron spat as he and Harry loosed their grip on Sydney's arms.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked.

"N-nothing," she sat down, bewildered, her eyes transfixed on the door. There was only one thought running though her mind at that moment: _does Malfoy know?_

"You sure you're okay?" Harry sat down next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Draco's just a bloody idiot," she forced herself to smile at Harry. "Always obsessed with everyone's blood-status…"

"Are you a pure blood?" Hermione asked before adding, "Not like it matters, of course."

They exchanged a weak smile and Sydney nodded, suddenly unable to speak any longer.

"Looks like the train stopped," Ron said a bit awkwardly as the four stood.

Inside the castle Sydney joined the line of first years outside of the Great Hall. They filed in, their eyes shining with amazement. The first years and Sydney stopped before the stool that stood before the podium.

"I will place this hat on your heads and you shall be sorted into your houses. We shall start with our fifth year transfer student: Sydney Wood." Professor McGonagall addressed the line of students standing in front of her.

Sydney pushed through the crowd and sat down as the large, beaten up hat fell past her ears.

"Hm interesting," a small voice drawled within the hat. "There's much knowledge and wit…but courage and experience…cunning as well, surely influential. You're proud of your family name, but you don't want to show it."

Sydney swallowed hard and gripped the edges of the stool. _I'm NOT my father, I won't choose the wrong side as he did, _she thought.

"Not your father, eh? Slytherin would treat you very well, you know," the hat spoke to her again. "In that case I better put you in: RAVENCLAW!" It shouted the name of her new house and a cheer erupted throughout the hall.

Sydney let out a sigh of relief as she made her way over to the Ravenclaw table, a smile plastered on her face.

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! I know a lot of you are probably Harry/OC fans (which will probably end up being the final paring) however, you should take the poll in my profile to set that in stone or to change the paring. **

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've had a bit of writers block and I'm kind of working on a new story that I may continue and post or just scrap. **

**Don't forget to review because review=inspiration and motivation (tis true).**

**-Emily :) **


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